Construction of Guba Hospital extension ‘started sans permit’

THE construction of the Guba Community Hospital extension building in the uplands of Barangay Guba, Cebu City, had started without a building permit.

In a SunStar Cebu interview on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, Office of the Building Official (OBO) chief Florante Catalan said the OBO had no records of a building or occupancy permit issued to the contractor.

Last June 1, Saturday, Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia visited the mountain hospital and was dismayed to see that it remains incomplete even though the Department of Health has already allocated a budget for its completion.

Garcia then planned to meet with officials of the City Health Department and the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) to discuss the matter.

Garcia met with CCMC Medical Director Peter Mancao on Monday, June 3, wherein Mancao was able to explain the reason for the delays.

He also planned to summon the project’s contractor and officials from the Department of Health (DOH) to shed light on the issue.

Construction of the infirmary’s extension began five years ago in 2019 after the DOH in Central Visayas allocated P15.79 million for the upgrading and completion of the healthcare facility, including the construction of a two-story building with 25-bed wards, a dental clinic, a delivery room, and an operating room.

Guba Community Hospital serves as an extension facility of the CCMC meant to cater to patients living in Cebu City’s mountain villages.

Mancao, in a talk with SunStar Cebu, clarified that the ongoing construction of the extension already has a building permit, although the process of obtaining the permit has encountered several delays.

Mancao said they just secured a permit recently.
Mancao said construction began without first securing the building permit due to an issue involving the land being used.

“We already have a building permit because we already settled the lot donation,” Mancao said in Cebuano.

Guba Community Hospital, which has been operating for more than 50 years, is an extension facility of the CCMC intended to cater to patients living in Cebu City’s mountain villages.

According to Mancao, the first phase of the extension project, which is the ground floor, has been completed, while the second phase is currently being constructed.

The ground floor will house the administrative offices, Operating Room and Delivery Room; while the second floor will have the 25-bed wards, chief nurse’s office, and central supply office.

Mancao said he explained to Garcia that delays were also due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Mancao said once the project is completed and turned over to the CCMC from the DOH, the occupancy permit will follow.

Guba Community Hospital continues to receive patients despite the unfinished portions of the facility’s extension. (EHP/PR)